Radio telephone system having recording and reproduction functions

ABSTRACT

A radio telephone system having a charger separated from a base unit and connectable to a radio telephone to provide power thereto, and a recording and reproducing circuit separated from the radio telephone and the base unit to record and reproduce a voice signal. The voice signal representing a telephone call from the subscriber line is transmitted from the base unit via the charger to the recording and reproducing circuit for the voice signal to be recorded therein. The recorded voice signal can be reproduced and played through a speaker in places detached from the base unit. The radio telephone system includes a mode selector to set the system either in an automatic answering mode or a reproduction mode. Even when the battery power of the radio telephone runs out, the recording and reproducing circuit can still reproduce the recorded voice signal where an alternating current power outlet is available for the charger to provide power to the recording and reproducing circuit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to improvements to radio telephone deviceswith an automatic answering function.

2. Description of the Related Art

As the use of telephone devices such as cordless telephone devicesincrease, it is demanded that such devices; have an automatic answeringfunction. In response to this, radio telephone devices with an automaticanswering function has been proposed. Such a radio telephone device hasbeen disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Applications Sho Nos.59-144366, 112375, and 62-55545.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portion of such a radio telephone devicerelated to the automatic answering function, as shown in the Application'545. This radio telephone device includes a base unit 1 and a radiotelephone 2 with the base unit 1 being connected to a cable telephoneline 3. The base unit 1 includes a radio telephone line connectiondetermining means 84, a recording guide sending means 85, a recordingcontrol means 86, and a recording means 87 for realizing the automaticanswering function.

In the arrangement, when an automatic answering mode is set in the baseunit 1 and there is no need for calling the radio telephone 2, or whenthe radio line connection determining means 84 determines that a radioline cannot be established between the base unit and the radio telephone2, the determining means 84 generates a determination output signalwhich operates the recording guide sending means 85 to thereby send aguiding voice signal to the cable telephone line 3. If the sending ofthe voice signal is completed, the recording control means 86 isoperated so as to record the an addressee's voice with the recordingmeans.

The radio telephone devices disclosed in the Publications '366 and '375are also constructed such that the base unit record the addressee'svoice.

In this arrangement where the base unit 1 records the addressee's voicein an automatic answering mode, recording of the voice during theautomatic answering made possible even if the battery in the radiotelephone 2 is used up because the base unit 1 operates with acommercial AC power source.

However, since the recording means 87 is provided in the base unit 1,the speaker (not shown) in the base unit 1 must broadcast the recordedvoice in order to be heard.

Since the base unit 1 is connected to the cable telephone line 3, theposition of its installation site is limited. For example, in order tohear the recorded voice, it is necessary for the addressee to go to thebase unit 1. Therefore, it is very inconvenient to ascertain therecorded matters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a radio telephonedevice which allows a matter recorded during absence to be ascertainedat a desired place.

The present invention includes a charger separated from the base unitand connected electrically to the radio telephone for charging a batteryin the radio telephone, and a recording and reproducing circuitseparated from the radio telephone and the base unit and supplied withan operating power source voltage from the charger for recording andreproducing the voice signal.

The radio telephone or the recording and reproducing circuit includesmode switching means for selecting an automatic answering function mode.In the operating mode a signal indicative of the addressee's voicereceived from the base unit is transmitted via the charger to therecording and reproducing means for recording purposes.

Therefore, the recorded matter can be reproduced and ascertained in anyplace where a power supply including a commercial AC power source forthe charger is available. In this case, since the battery for the radiotelephone is not used, the recorded matter can be ascertainedirrespective of the state of consumption of the battery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional radio telephonedevice with an automatic answering function;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a radio telephone deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a flow chart associated with the operation of the base unitaccording to the embodiment of FIG. 1 when there is an incoming call;

FIG. 3B is a flow chart associated with the operation of the radiotelephone according to the embodiment of FIG. 1 when there is anincoming call;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the present inventionin which a recording and producing device is provided separately fromthe charger;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of the presentinvention in which an automatic answering mode setting switch isprovided in the charger;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a still further embodiment of the presentinvention in which an automatic answering mode setting switch isprovided in a recording and reproducing device;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a still further embodiment of the presentinvention in which the reproduction switch is provided in the radiotelephone; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a still further embodiment of the presentinvention in which a message generator is provided in the base unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 2, a base unit 1 is connected via a radio circuit to a radiotelephone 2 and to a cable telephone line 3. The radio telephone 2 isplaced on a charger 4 which charges a battery 29 for the radio telephone2 and which is provided separately from the base unit 1 and radiotelephone 2.

A signal from the cable telephone line 3 is used as a modulating inputto a transmitter 5 via a line switch 33 and a hybrid circuit 34. Theelectric waves modulated by the transmitter 5 are radiated from anantenna 6 toward the radio telephone 2.

The radiated electric waves from the radio telephone 2 are received by areception antenna 7 and demodulated by a receiver 8. The demodulatedsignal from the receiver 8 is transmitted to the cable telephone line 3via the hybrid circuit 34 and line switch 33.

A synthesizer 9 of the base unit 1 outputs a signal of a frequencycorresponding to a radio channel (including a speech channel and acontrol channel) to the transmitter 5 and receiver 8. In the particularembodiment, the number of control channels constituting the radiochannel is one and the number of speech channels is plural. The controlchannel may be composed of a plurality of channels.

The output of the receiver 8 is input to a reception field detector 10in order to determine an electric field strength. The detector 10 may beeither a carrier squelch circuit or a noise squelch circuit. Anotheroutput from the receiver 8 is provided as a data signal contained in thedemodulated received waves to an identification signal detector 11 whichchecks an identification signal (ID code) determined by a combination ofthe base unit 1 and radio telephone 2.

The outputs from the detectors 10 and 11 and the demodulated version ofthe data signal are input to a control circuit 12 for use in connectioncontrol. The control circuit 12 controls the synthesizer 9 to select aradio channel and sends the data signal as a modulating input to thetransmitter 5. Reference numeral 30 denotes a call signal detector whichdetects a call signal of 16 Hz from the cable line 3 and which outputs adetection signal, indicative of that detection, to the control circuit12. A power source system for the base unit 1 is constructed such that acommercial AC voltage of 100 V is converted to a DC Vcc by a rectifyingand stabilizing circuit 25 and that the DC voltage Vcc is used for powersupplies of the respective circuits.

Similarly, the radio telephone set 2 includes a reception antenna 13 anda receiver 14 the demodulated output of which is provided to an earpiece15. The voice from a mouthpiece 16 is supplied as a modulating input tothe transmitter 17 which radiates the modulated carrier via an antenna18.

A synthesizer 19, a reception field detector 20, an identificationsignal detector 21 are similar to those provided in the base unit 1. Acontrol circuit 22 provides entire control of the radio telephone 2. Aspeaker 23 is a sounder which generates a ringing tone when there is anincoming call.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a hook switch; 32, a dial key pad unit; 35,an amplifier which amplifies an addresser's voice signal received by thereceiver 14; 36, a mode setting switch which sets an automatic answeringmode; 37, a recorded voice output terminal; 38, a recording controlterminal; and 39, a message terminal which sends a guidance message,provided by the operation of the automatic answering function, to theaddresser.

Each of the circuits of the radio telephone 2 is supplied with power bythe battery 29. For this battery, when the radio telephone 2 is placedon the charger 4, the charging terminals 28 of the radio telephone andthe charging terminals 42 of the charger are coupled electrically, sothat the DC output voltage from the rectifying and stabilizing circuit40 is supplied via a current limiting resistor 41 to the battery 29 forcharging purposes.

The charger 4 includes the rectifying and stabilizing circuit 40 whichrectifies a commercial AC voltage of 100 V via a AC plug 43 to provide aDC voltage which is used to charge the batter 29 for the radio telephone2; a recording and reproducing circuit 44 operated with a DC output fromthe stabilizing circuit 40 for recording an addresser's voice and forsending to the addresser a reproduced guiding message in the automaticanswering mode; a reproducing switch 45; a speaker 46; and a set ofterminals, i.e., a recorded voice input terminal 47, a recording controlterminal 48, and a message input terminal 49 which are coupled to therecorded voice output terminal 37, recording control terminal 38,message terminal 39, respectively, of the radio telephone when the radiotelephone 1 is placed on the charger 4. The recording and reproducingcircuit 44 includes recording guide sending means, recording controlmeans, and recording means such as those shown by 85, 86 and 87,respectively, in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts indicative of the operation of the baseunit and the radio telephone device operated, respectively when there isan incoming call from the cable telephone line 3. The operation of theembodiment of FIG. 2 will now be described with reference to theseflowcharts.

First, when the base unit 1 in its standby state detects a call signalfrom the cable telephone line 3 using the call signal detector 30 (step60), it checks whether there is any idle one among the control channelsC-CH. If so, it sets the oscillating frequency of the synthesizer 9 atthe control channel frequency, and turns on the transmitter 5 to therebycause same to transmit the incoming signal (step 61). In this case, theincoming signal includes a signal designating a speech channel S-CH.

On the other hand, the radio telephone 2 turns on the synthesizer 19 fora given time t1 set in a timer (not shown) in a standby state, sets itsoscillating frequency at the control channel frequency, and turns on thereceiver 14 (step 80). When an incoming signal is received at this time(step 81), the telephone 2 turns on the transmitter 17 (step 82) tothereby cause same to send an incoming signal responsive signalincluding an identification signal (ID code) for identifying thetelephone 2 itself (step 83), and selects a designated speech channelS-CH (step 84). If no incoming signal is received, the synthesizer 19and the receiver 14 are turned off for a predetermined time t2 (step84). The intermittent reception by turning on and off the receiver isreferred to as battery saving.

The average current I consumed during the standby is I=(1/t1+t2)(t1Ion+t2 Ioff) where Ioff is the current consumed when the receiver 14 isoff, and Ion is the current consumed when the receiver 14 is on. Sinceusually Ion>Ioff, the current I is reduced.

When the base unit 1 detects electric waves from the radio telephone 2using the reception field detector 10 (step 62), it stops sending theincoming signal (step 63). If no electric waves from the radio telephone2 are detected at this time, the base unit continues to send theincoming signal up to n times (step 66). The reason why transmission ofthe incoming signal up to the predetermined number of times is that theradio telephone 2 is in an intermittent reception, so that it cannotreceive any signals during the time t2. The reason why closing any moretransmission after n times of transmission is to avoid uselessoccupation of the control channel, for example, when the power sourcefor the radio telephone set 2 is off or when the radio telephone set 2is placed at an exessively great distance from the base unit.

When the ID code contained in the incoming signal responsive signal fromthe radio telephone 2 coincides with the preset ID code (step 64), thebase unit selects the S-CH designated by the incoming signal is selected(step 68). If there is no coincidence, there may be an incoming signalresponsive signal from another radio telephone, so that the base unitwaits until the call from the cable telephone line 3 disappears (step65), and the base unit returns to its standby state.

After selecting the S-CH, the base unit 1 sends a bell ringing signal(step 69). When the radio telephone 2 receives it (step 86), it sends aringing tone from the sounder 23 (step 87). Upon subjecting to theoff-hook operation by an off-hook switch 31 in response to the ringingtone (step 88), the radio telephone 2 sends an off-hook signal (step 89)and is placed into a telephone communication state (step 90).

When the base unit 1 receives the off-hook signal (step 70), it stopssending the bell ringing signal (step 71), and closes the line switch 33to form a speech loop with the cable telephone 3 to thereby bring abouta telephonic communication state (step 72).

When the base unit 1 finds that the frequency of transmissions of theincoming signal has reached n (step 66) and detects that the incomingsignal from the cable telephone line has disappeared (step 67), itreturns to its standby state to thereby prevent the repetition ofunnecessary incoming operations. The above involves the incomingoperation.

If no off-hook operation by the hook-switch 31 is performed when theringing tone is generated in the radio base 2, the telephone 1 checkswhether the automatic answering mode has been selected by the switch 36.If so, the control circuit 22 sends an off-hook signal from thetransmitter 17 to thereby bring about a telephonic communication statebetween the base unit 1 and radio telephone 2 (step 92). Thereafter, thecontrol circuit 22 controls the recording and reproducing circuit 44 inthe charger 4 via the recording control terminals 38 and 48 so as toselect a reproduction state to thereby reproduce a guiding messagerecorded beforehand. A voice signal indicative of the guiding message isinput to the transmitter 17 via the terminals 49 and 39 and sent by thetransmitter 17 to the base unit 1 via a speech channel and, in turn,sent to the addresser via the line switch 33 of the base unit 1 (step93). When there is an incoming voice signal from the addresser inresponse to the guiding message, the control circuit 22 places therecording and reproducing circuit 44 in its recording state, and inputsa signal indicative of the addresser's voice obtained from the output ofthe amplifier 35 to the recording and reproducing circuit 44 via theterminals 37 and 47 for recording purposes (step 94).

The reproduction mode is selected by turning on the reproduction switch45. In the reproduction mode, the addresser's voice thus recorded isreproduced from the recording and reproducing circuit 44 and ascertainedvia the speaker 46. This ascertaining is possible in any place where acommercial AC voltage is available via the AC plug 43.

Therefore, a troublesome action to come near a place where the base unit1 is set and to ascertain the recorded matter as is the case with theprior art device is not required and an automatic answering functionwhich uses the feature of the portability of the radio telephone 2 canbe carried out.

While in the above embodiment the recording and reproducing circuit 44and speaker 46 for recording and reproducing purposes are disposed as aunit in the charger 4, recording and reproducing a message is possiblewithout using the voltage of the battery 29 in the radio telephone set 2if the operating power source voltage (DC voltage) is supplied from thecharger 4. Therefore, the recording and reproducing function may beprovided separately outside the charger 4 such that it is connected viaa connectable cable, including a power supply line, a voice signal lineand a recording and reproducing control line, to the charger 4.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention having suchstructure in which recording and reproducing device 100 which includes arecording and reproducing circuit 44, a reproduction switch 45, and aspeaker 46 is provided separately from the charger 4. A recordingcontrol signal from the control circuit 22 of the radio telephone 2 isapplied to the recording and reproducing circuit 44 via the terminal 38of the radio telephone 2, terminals 48 and 48a of the charger 4, and aterminal 101 of the recording and reproducing device 100. The outputfrom the amplifier 35 of the radio telephone 2 is applied to therecording and reproducing circuit 44 via the terminal 37 of the radiotelephone 2, terminals 47 and 47a of the charger 4, and a terminal 102of the recording and reproducing device 100. The guiding message outputfrom the recording and reproducing circuit 44 of the recording andreproducing device 100 is applied to the transmitter 17 of the radiotelephone 2 via a terminal 103, terminals 49a and 49 of the charger 4,and a terminal 39 of the radio telephone 2. The remaining structure issimilar to the corresponding one in FIG. 2. By such arrangement, therecording and reproducing device 100 is constructed removably from thecharger 4.

While in the embodiments of FIG. 2 and 4 the automatic answering modesetting switch 36 is provided in the radio telephone 2, it may beprovided either in the charger 4 or in the recording and reproducingdevice 100 separated from the charger 4.

FIGS. 5 and 6 each show yet another embodiment of the present invention.In the arrangement of FIG. 5, the automatic answering mode settingswitch 36 is provided in the charger 4 and provides its output to thecontrol circuit 22 of the radio telephone 2 via the terminal 50 of thecharger 4, and via a terminal 51 of the radio telephone 2. In thearrangement of FIG. 6, the automatic answering mode setting switch 36 isprovided in the recording and reproducing device 100. The output fromthe automatic answering mode setting switch 36 is applied to the controlcircuit 22 of the radio telephone 2 via the terminal 104 of therecording and reproducing device 100, terminals 50a and 50b of thecharger 4, and terminal 51 of the radio telephone 2. The remainingstructure is similar to the corresponding one in FIGS. 2 and 4.According to such arrangement, the setting of the automatic answeringmode is possible either in the charger 4 or in the recording andreproducing device 100.

The reproduction switch 45 may be disposed similarly in the radiotelephone 2. FIG. 7 shows yet another embodiment of the presentinvention in which the reproduction switch 45 is provided in the radiotelephone 2. In the arrangement, the output of the reproduction switch45 is applied to the recording and reproducing circuit 44 of the charger4 via the terminal 52 of the radio telephone 2 and the terminal 53 ofthe charger 4. The remaining structure is similar to the correspondingone shown in FIG. 2. According to such arrangement, the reproducingoperation is possible in the radio telephone 2.

While in the above embodiment the guiding message is reproduced by therecording and reproducing circuit 44, a message generator in anintegrated circuit may be provided in the base unit 1. FIG. 8illustrates yet another embodiment of the present invention having suchstructure in which the guiding message is supplied from the messagegenerator 54 of the base unit 1 to the addresser via the hybrid circuit34 and line switch 33. The message generator 54 is controlled by thecontrol circuit 12 of the base unit 1. In this arrangement, the circuitto generate a guiding message is eliminated from the recording andreproducing circuit 44.

If the automatic answering mode has been selected by the automaticanswering mode setting switch 36 in the above embodiments, tones, suchas a ring back tone, from the addresser one input as recorded signals tothe recording and reproducing circuit 44 via the amplifier 35.Therefore, by employing an arrangement in which, signals such as arecorded signal, are broadcasted simultaneously from the speaker 46, theon-hook call origination is possible, which includes a call origination,without picking up the handset until the addresser responds to thedialing operation after the off-hook operation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cordless telephone system comprising:a baseunit coupled to a telephone subscriber line for receiving a speechsignal therefrom, and wirelessly transmitting the speech signal over aradio channel; means for setting the system either in an automaticanswering mode or a reproduction mode;a charger unit including: an inputterminal connectable to an alternating current power source, a converterfor converting alternating current power to direct current power, anoutput terminal for providing direct current power, and a recording andreproducing means, detachable from the base unit, connectable to saidconverter and coupled to the mode setting means, for recording thespeech signal during the time when the system is in the automaticanswering mode and for reproducing the speech signal during the timewhen the system is in the reproduction mode; and a mobile unitwirelessly connectable to the base unit including: a rechargeablebattery connectable to the charger unit for providing power to themobile unit, means for receiving the speech signal wirelesslytransmitted over the radio channel, and means coupled to the receivingmeans for controlling transmission of the speech signal to the recordingand reproducing means during the time when the system is in theautomatic answering mode.
 2. The cordless system of claim 1, wherein thebase unit includes means for establishing a speech communication radiolink with the mobile unit in response to an incoming call from thesubscriber line, wherein the recording and reproducing unit includesmeans for generating a guiding message, and wherein said control meansincludes means for transmitting the guiding message to the subscriberline through the speech communication radio link in response to theincoming call during the time when the system is in the automaticanswering mode.
 3. The cordless telephone system of claim 1, wherein themode setting means includes a first switch for setting the system in theautomatic answering made and a second switch for setting the system inthe reproduction mode.
 4. The cordless telephone system of claim 3,wherein the first switch is in the mobile unit.
 5. The cordlesstelephone system of claim 3, wherein the second switch is in the chargerunit.
 6. The cordless telephone system of claim 3, wherein the firstswitch is in the charger unit.
 7. The cordless telephone system of claim3, wherein the second switch is in the mobile unit.
 8. A radio telephonesystem comprising:a base unit coupled to a telephone subscriber line forreceiving a voice signal representing a telephone call from a callertherefrom; a radio telephone operable on battery power and wirelesslycoupled to the base unit for communicating a voice signal therewith; acharger, detachable from the base unit and the radio telephone, andelectrically connectable to the radio telephone, for providing batterycharging power to the radio telephone; a recording and reproducing meansin said charger, detachable from the base unit and the radio telephone,and electrically connectable to the radio telephone, for recording andreproducing a voice signal; and means, coupled between the base unit andthe recording and reproduction means, for controlling transmission ofsaid voice signal representing a telephone call from the base unit tothe recording and reproducing means to be recorded therein.
 9. A radiotelephone system comprising:a base unit coupled to a telephonesubscriber line for receiving a voice signal representing a telephonecall from a caller therefrom; a radio telephone operable on batterypower and wirelessly coupled to the base unit for communicating a voicesignal therewith; a charger, detachable from the base unit and the radiotelephone, and electrically connectable to the radio telephone, forproviding battery charging power to the radio telephone; a recording andreproducing means, detachable from the base unit and the radiotelephone, and connected to the radio telephone via said charger, forrecording and reproducing a voice signal; and means, coupled between thebase unit and the recording and reproduction means, for controllingtransmission of said voice signal representing a telephone call from thebase unit to the recording and reproducing means to be recorded therein.10. A radio telephone system comprising:a base unit coupled to atelephone subscriber line for receiving a voice signal representing atelephone call from a caller therefrom; a radio telephone operable onbattery power and wirelessly coupled to the base unit for communicatinga voice signal therewith; a charger, detachable from the base unit andthe radio telephone, and removably connected to the radio telephone, forproviding battery charging power to the radio telephone; a recording andreproducing means, detachable from the base unit and the radiotelephone, connected to the radio telephone via said charger andremovably connected to the charger, for recording and reproducing avoice signal; and means, coupled between the base unit and the recordingand reproduction means, for controlling transmission of said voicesignal representing a telephone call from the base unit to the recordingand reproducing means to be recorded therein.
 11. A radio telephonesystem comprising:a base unit coupled to a telephone subscriber line forreceiving a voice signal representing a telephone call from a callertherefrom; a radio telephone operable on battery power and wirelesslycoupled to the base unit for communicating a voice signal therewith; acharger, detachable from the base unit and the radio telephone, andelectrically connectable to the radio telephone, for providing acharging power to the radio telephone; a recording and reproducingmeans, detachable from the base unit and the radio telephone, andelectrically connectable to the radio telephone, for recording andreproducing a voice signal; means, coupled between the base unit and therecording and reproduction means, for controlling transmission of avoice signal representing a telephone call from a caller from the baseunit to the recording and reproducing means to be recorded therein;means, coupled between the base unit and the recording and reproducingmeans, for controlling transmission of said voice signal representing atelephone call from the base unit to the recording and reproducingmeans; means in said charger for setting the system in an automaticanswering mode; and means for setting the system in a reproduction mode,wherein the recording and reproducing means is coupled to the automaticanswering mode setting means and the reproduction mode setting means,and wherein the recording and reproducing means records said voicesignal representing a telephone call during the time when the system isin the automatic answering mode, and reproduces said voice signal duringthe time when the system is in the reproduction mode.
 12. A radiotelephone system comprising:a base unit coupled to a telephonesubscriber line for receiving a voice signal representing a telephonecall from a caller therefrom; a radio telephone operable on batterypower and wirelessly coupled to the base unit for communicating a voicesignal therewith; a charger, detachable from the base unit and the radiotelephone, and electrically connectable to the radio telephone, forproviding a charging power to the radio telephone; a recording andreproducing means in said charger, detachable from the base unit and theradio telephone, and electrically connectable to the radio telephone,for recording and reproducing a voice signal; means, coupled between thebase unit and the recording and reproduction means, for controllingtransmission of a voice signal representing a telephone call from acaller from the base unit to the recording and reproducing means to berecorded therein; means, coupled between the base unit and the recordingand reproducing means, for controlling transmission of said voice signalrepresenting a telephone call from the base unit to the recording andreproducing means; means for setting the system in an automaticanswering mode; and means for setting the system in a reproduction mode,wherein the recording and reproducing means is coupled to the automaticanswering mode setting means and the reproduction mode setting means,and wherein the recording and reproducing means records said voicesignal representing a telephone call during the time when the system isin the automatic answering mode, and reproduces said voice signal duringthe time when the system is in the reproduction mode.
 13. A radiotelephone system comprising:a base unit coupled to a telephonesubscriber line for receiving a voice signal representing a telephonecall from a caller therefrom; a radio telephone operable on batterypower and wirelessly coupled to the base unit for communicating a voicesignal therewith; a charger, detachable from the base unit and the radiotelephone, and electrically connectable to the radio telephone, forproviding a charging power to the radio telephone; a recording andreproducing means, being separated from said charger, connected to theradio telephone via the charger, and detachable from the base unit andthe radio telephone, for recording and reproducing a voice signal;means, coupled between the base unit and the recording and reproductionmeans, for controlling transmission of a voice signal representing atelephone call from a caller from the base unit to the recording andreproducing means to be recorded therein; means, coupled between thebase unit and the recording and reproducing means, for controllingtransmission of said voice signal representing a telephone call from thebase unit to the recording and reproducing means; means for setting thesystem in an automatic answering mode; and means for setting the systemin a reproduction mode, wherein the recording and reproducing means iscoupled to the automatic answering mode setting means and thereproduction mode setting means, and wherein the recording andreproducing means records said voice signal representing a telephonecall during the time when the system is in the automatic answering mode,and reproduces said voice signal during the time when the system is inthe reproduction mode.
 14. A radio telephone system comprising:a baseunit coupled to a telephone subscriber line for receiving a voice signalrepresenting a telephone call from a caller therefrom; a radio telephoneoperable on battery power and wirelessly coupled to the base unit forcommunicating a voice signal therewith; a charger, detachable from thebase unit and the radio telephone, and removably connected to the radiotelephone, for providing a charging power to the radio telephone; arecording and reproducing means, removably connected to said charger,connected to the radio telephone via the charger and detachable from thebase unit and the radio telephone, for recording and reproducing a voicesignal; means, coupled between the base unit and the recording andreproduction means, for controlling transmission of a voice signalrepresenting a telephone call from a caller from the base unit to therecording and reproducing means to be recorded therein; means, coupledbetween the base unit and the recording and reproducing means, forcontrolling transmission of said voice signal representing a telephonecall from the base unit to the recording and reproducing means; meansfor setting the system in an automatic answering mode; and means forsetting the system in a reproduction mode, wherein the recording andreproducing means is coupled to the automatic answering mode settingmeans and the reproduction mode setting means, and wherein the recordingand reproducing means records said voice signal representing a telephonecall during the time when the system is in the automatic answering mode,and reproduces said voice signal during the time when the system is inthe reproduction mode.
 15. A radio telephone system comprising:a baseunit coupled to a telephone subscriber line for receiving a voice signalrepresenting a telephone call from a caller therefrom; a radio telephoneoperable on battery power and wirelessly coupled to the base unit forcommunicating a voice signal therewith; a charger, detachable from thebase unit and the radio telephone, and electrically connectable to theradio telephone, for providing a charging power to the radio telephone;a recording and reproducing means, detachable from the base unit and theradio telephone, and electrically connectable to the radio telephone,for recording and reproducing a voice signal; means, coupled between thebase unit and the recording and reproduction means, for controllingtransmission of a voice signal representing a telephone call from acaller from the base unit to the recording and reproducing means to berecorded therein; means, coupled between the base unit and the recordingand reproducing means, for controlling transmission of said voice signalrepresenting a telephone call from the base unit to the recording andreproducing means; means for setting the system in an automaticanswering mode; and means in said charger for setting the system in areproduction mode, wherein the recording and reproducing means iscoupled to the automatic answering mode setting means and thereproduction mode setting means, and wherein the recording andreproducing means records said voice signal representing a telephonecall during the time when the system is in the automatic answering mode,and reproduces said voice signal during the time when the system is inthe reproduction mode.
 16. The radio telephone device of claim 8,wherein the recording and reproducing means records and reproduces saidvoice signal representing a telephone call, and includes a speaker forproducing a voice representing said reproduced voice signal.
 17. Theradio telephone system of claim 8, further comprising means forgenerating a predetermined message to the caller.
 18. The radiotelephone system of claim 17, wherein said message generating means isin the recording and reproducing means.
 19. The radio telephone deviceof claim 17, wherein the message generating means is in the base unit.